I have come to the strange ball
Where tails and gaiters abound,
And the best hunters the year-round
The New Year wait to install.

A violet duchess careens
In the arms of a red coat:
A painted viscount of note
Keeps time on a tambourine.

And the red waistcoats whirl by,
And the flaming tulles are flowing,
As dead leaves the wind is blowing
In front of a blind man's eye.